


At My Weakest

by daneicole



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28026789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daneicole/pseuds/daneicole
Summary: Feeling restless during the ball, Edelgard decides to head to the Goddess Tower to take her mind off what has happened in the past few months, most recently the incident at Remire.What she thought was a night to be spent in solitude was about to change when the tower receives an unexpected visitor.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Kudos: 60





	At My Weakest

It was the night of the ball at Garreg Mach. Edelgard had been educated enough to be familiar with such events, and she expected it to pass by like all other occasions have been for her.

  
However, tonight she was restless, and it was as if the night was becoming too long for her. She knew it wasn't because of the latter stages of her plan coming closer to fruition—she had steeled herself countless times for it. It wasn't because she was not fit to attend the ball, since she slept a bit more peacefully the night before—Byleth had given her a salve that helps with sleeping difficulties.

  
“Edie.”

  
Edelgard turned in the direction of the mellifluous voice. She knew only one person who would call her by that name.

  
“Dorothea,” she acknowledged.

  
“Taking a long rest from the dance floor?” the songstress hummed. “Can’t be helped, I guess. You have a good number of people lined up.”

  
Edelgard huffed amusingly. “I could say the same to you. Winning the White Heron Cup did not fail to have them stumbling amongst themselves to share the floor with you.”

  
Dorothea giggled. “My, my, Edie. Ever the flatterer tonight, aren't you?”

  
Edelgard shrugged. “Must be the wine.”

  
Dorothea glanced at her own glass. “It’s nice that we're all permitted to drink, even just for tonight. Seteth must have thought that the incident with Remire has shaken everyone to the core and figured he'd be lenient with us for once.”

  
An uncomfortable feeling had settled within Edelgard. “Yes, indeed it has caused a great deal of shock…among other unpleasant things.”

  
_Solon, that bastard._

  
Dorothea noted the frown on the Imperial princess' brow, as well as the way the lilac eyes flitted here and there, as if Edelgard was looking for something within the crowd.

  
“You first met our professor back at Remire, right?” Dorothea asked. “Was she from there?”

  
This seemed to pull Edelgard out of the clouds in her head. “I believe she and Captain Jeralt happened to be staying there at the time.”

  
“She has been very quiet since that horrible day.”

  
“Yes, I have noticed that as well. I assume she and the captain had stayed there for a considerable length of time, and the village had become close to her heart. With what happened, it's no surprise that she'll react the way she does now.”

  
“Have you danced with her tonight, Edie?”

  
Edelgard almost dropped the glass of wine that she was holding. “What?”

  
“You’re not the only one with a long line of people wishing for a dance. I've noticed that she's been accepting one invitation after another, starting with Claude. She's also danced with Dimitri not long ago.”

  
“From what you just told me, I would assume that she'd be tired to accept one more. It's best if I leave her be.” Dorothea smirked at her then, which slightly riled Edelgard. “What’s so funny?”

  
“Nothing. It's just…you've been eyeing the floor for a while now, like you're looking for something. Or, someone. Perhaps—”

  
“I did not mean to look for her. Nor do I plan to invite her for a dance.” Edelgard put down her glass. “I apologize, Dorothea. I did not mean to be cross. Perhaps I have finally reached my limit for tonight. I might have to take a walk for now to ease my head, though.”

  
Edelgard bade the songstress farewell and left the hall. Once she had reached a corridor far enough from anyone’s eyes and ears, she stood in her place and looked around.

  
“Hubert.”

  
Her retainer slithered out from the shadows of the corridor. Edelgard had always marveled at Hubert's ability to conceal himself seamlessly within the shadows with only her knowing.

  
“My lady,” Hubert greeted.

  
“I wish to head to the Goddess Tower.”

  
Hubert frowned. “On your own, Lady Edelgard?”

  
“Yes, Hubert. On my own. I suggest you enjoy the rest of the night with the others, you certainly need it.” When Hubert didn't say anything, she let out a sigh. “I will be fine, Hubert.”

  
Hubert mulled on his charge's suggestion, and seeing that she was adamant to head to the tower on her own, he eventually relented.

  
“As you wish, my lady.” He was gone the next second.

  
Edelgard turned her heel and walked in the direction of the cathedral. Using the passageways at the side, she reached the tower with no issue. She was irked at how security was loose that night, and yet she was relieved that she didn't have to work up the effort to sneak past any of the guards.

  
The tower was unlocked, and Edelgard made her way to the topmost floor. She made sure to tread lightly, as there were other people still in the tower. She can tell by the hushed voices that some students had agreed to meet up, as dictated by the legend that the tower was famous for.

  
_Maybe I should have asked the professor to meet with me here._

  
Edelgard halted. She asked why on earth she would even invite the professor, and she chided herself for thinking such idiotic and ridiculous thoughts.

  
_It's not like I have the right._

  
Edelgard continued her silent climb to the topmost floor, and this time, her steps grew heavier. When she reached her destination, she took a rest on one of the large slabs of stone and set her gaze at the night sky. It had taken on a beautiful shade of blue, tinged with the blackness of the night and lightly dusted with the moonlight and the stars.

  
_Yes, blue. Like her eyes._

  
It was then that she finally realized what caused her restlessness that night, and she was not pleased with it.

  
_No, this isn't right. I should not even be thinking about her. In time, she will come to see the truth, and she will never be—_

  
“Edelgard?”

-+-

  
Edelgard nearly jumped from her seat at the familiar voice. She barely kept her composure and stood up to meet yet another of the tower's visitors. Although this one came as a complete surprise for her.

  
“Ah, here you are,” Edelgard greeted. “Are you waiting for someone?”

  
Edelgard mentally kicked herself for the question. _Of course she'd be waiting for someone. Why else would she be here?_

  
The visitor turned out to be the professor, Byleth. Stoic as ever, she said with a flat tone, “I was waiting for you.”

  
Edelgard felt her cheeks burn, and she was thankful that the tower was somehow dark enough to conceal her face.

  
“For me?” Edelgard spoke. “Well, you should have summoned me earlier. Regardless, here I am.”

  
Byleth settled close to one of the tower's wide open windows, and Edelgard felt her breath catch at the sight of the moonlight bathing the professor with its glow.

  
_This is madness._

  
“Has something happened?” Byleth asked.

  
Edelgard huffed. Of course, the professor is always quick to ask if something is amiss. It may be because of her duties as a teacher, but it warmed her heart nonetheless.

  
Edelgard stated her reasons for coming up to the tower and how special it was for her parents. Eventually, she shared the story of how her father and mother first met, and she found it somewhat easy to reveal this part of her life to the professor.

  
It was like she trusted her enough to let her know about something that is very personal.

  
Byleth listened to her in silence, yet Edelgard did not miss the flicker of fascination from the professor's eyes as she spoke.

  
“Heh, I suppose it's a silly story to cling to,” Edelgard said when she was finished.

  
“It’s a lovely story,” Byleth said, smiling as she did.

  
The tower may have been dark, but the fleeting smile on the professor's face was perhaps bright enough to be seen by the Imperial princess, and she could feel herself weaken a bit.

  
_Absolute madness._

  
Still, she held her ground and continued her tale. She then decided to veer the conversation away from herself to ease the tension she was feeling, and she playfully asked the professor to reveal truths of her own.

  
“Or perhaps tell me about your first love,” she added.

  
_That was stupid. If Dorothea were here, she'd have a fit._

  
Edelgard expected Byleth to give a non-committal answer, or perhaps mention someone she had worked with in her mercenary days.

  
However, Byleth, with her eyes suddenly averted from Edelgard, said, “Please don't ask that of me.”

  
Edelgard was taken aback. She could not believe that she witnessed yet another rarity with the enigma that was the professor. To see Byleth suddenly guarding herself at such a question, Edelgard felt as if she won a herculean bout with the stoicism of the professor.

  
“You realize that just makes me more curious than ever!” Edelgard blurted out.

  
_Damn, that was the wine talking._

  
She wasn't ready for Byleth's somewhat flustered reaction, as well as the apology that came from the professor for not being able to share anything. Edelgard felt that it was wrong of her to tease the professor, and she toned herself down by saying that she should be the one to apologize.

  
“Let's leave it there for today and return to the ball. There must be plenty of students hoping to talk with you...and to dance with you,” Edelgard said after commenting that the there was more to the professor than just being known as a mercenary.

  
She tried hard to hide the dismay she felt at the thought of the professor with the other students.

  
Still, she said, “I would not wish to prevent you from mingling. I cannot keep you all to myself, after all.”

  
Edelgard was the first to set off, until—

  
“Wait, Edelgard.”

  
Edelgard turned around to face the professor, and she saw that there was a hint of eagerness within the stoic façade that she had grown used to.

  
“Yes, Professor?” Edelgard replied.

  
“I said I was waiting for you,” Byleth spoke. “I meant to wait for you here so I can ask you for a dance.”

  
Edelgard froze. “You mean to dance…with me?”

  
“Yes.”

  
Edelgard paused to let Byleth's words sink in, then she let out a laugh. “Professor, you could have done so back at the hall.”

  
“I know,” Byleth said. “But it doesn’t feel right with me to ask you there. So, I decided to wait for you here.”

  
Edelgard felt as if a powerful attack spell had been thrown at her, and for a moment she was rendered speechless. She then regained what little composure she had left.

  
“What if I didn't go up here? What would you have done?” she asked.

  
Byleth was quiet after that. She raised a finger to her chin, her brow now furrowed.

  
“I…hadn't considered that possibility,” she said, her tone still as flat as ever.

  
Edelgard finally broke, and she erupted into a fit of laughter. After what seemed to be almost a minute, Edelgard calmed herself down.

  
“I apologize for my inappropriate outburst, Professor,” Edelgard said. “I just…found this all amusing. Surely this has offended you.”

  
“No offense taken, Edelgard,” Byleth said with a smile. “It’s good seeing you happy like this.”

  
Byleth stood from her place by the window and offered her hand.

  
“I know I am not worthy of it, but would you be so kind as to join me for a dance?” Byleth offered.

  
Edelgard would have swooned right there and then, but she managed to keep herself steady. How the professor makes everything within her go haywire with so little effort has irked her to a great extent.

  
And yet it gave her a rather exhilarating feeling, as if she was once again reliving the Black Eagle house's many victories under Byleth's tutelage. She reveled in it, and if the circumstances were not dire, she would very much prefer not to let it all go.

For tonight, however, she will permit herself to drown in the tumultuous feelings that she has for the professor, as well as whatever it was that Byleth was doing to her at that moment.

  
“You are never unworthy, Professor,” Edelgard said as she stepped forward to take the offered hand. “I’d be glad to join you for a dance.”

  
“I would like to lead, if you don’t mind,” Byleth said as their hands joined.

  
Edelgard almost jumped. “Oh! Um, yes…that would be fine.”

  
While the Imperial princess was sure that the heat in her palms would be kept concealed by her gloves, she could not account to the flush of red that was now blooming across her cheeks. She then became too aware of where the Professor’s hands were settled—the right one was placed frighteningly close to her hip. Byleth then pulled her closer, with little to no space spared between them.

  
If Edelgard had been a touch more inebriated, she would have crumpled on the floor in seconds.

  
_Thank the Saints, Hubert’s not here._

  
Edelgard mentally laughed at herself for that. Invoking the Saints was not something she would usually do, and yet there she was doing just that.

  
“Edelgard, are you okay?” Byleth asked, bringing her back to what was happening at the moment.

  
“Y-yes, Professor,” Edelgard said. “Is something the matter?”

  
“Your cheeks are turning red, and your hands are getting a bit warmer. Do you have a fever?”

  
Edelgard quickly shook her head. “No, I’m fine, it’s just…I had a bit too much to drink back at the hall.”

  
“Aren’t you too young to be drinking?”

  
“Professor, we’ve all had a rough time these past several months. I think we can all use the fancy wine.”

  
Byleth chuckled, and more heat rushed up to Edelgard’s cheeks.

  
“I suppose you’re right,” Byleth agreed. 

  
“Can you hum for us?”

  
“Hum?”

  
“Yes, hum. Unless you can summon the entire band here to play music for us.”

  
“You certainly had too much to drink, Edelgard. You don’t talk like that very often.”

  
“This is no time for lectures, Professor.”

  
“Indeed.”

  
Byleth breathed in and began to hum a song that Edelgard surmised was from Faerghus. They moved across the worn stone floor as Byleth hummed, their eyes never wavering from each other’s gazes. Even as the song had ended, they kept dancing, albeit in slow sways. Byleth didn’t seem to be keen on letting go, as Edelgard noticed that the professor’s hand that was holding hers had slightly tightened its grip.

  
“Are you tired?” Byleth asked.

  
“I can’t…really tell,” Edelgard heard herself answer.

  
“Tell me if you are,” Byleth told her.

  
“I will.”

  
Edelgard fought the weariness that had been creeping within her just so she can prolong the time she has with Byleth. It wasn’t everyday that she gets the chance to be completely alone with the professor, what with classes and missions and her affairs with _those people_ —it’s not even right to call them that—clamoring to take her time and attention.

  
As much as it delighted her to finally dance with the professor without any hindrances, it pained her that this may not only be the first one she’ll ever have with her, but also the very last.

  
_This is unfair. Professor, you are unfair._

  
Edelgard gazed into the cornflower blue eyes in front of her, etching them into her memory. She recounted the various moments that drew her closer to the professor—especially on the 22nd day of the Garland Moon, when she received a snow-white bear stuffy accompanied with a note that wished her well. She kept the note within the pages of her sketchbook, and the bear close to her during the night.

  
She intended to have the professor as an asset of the Empire, but she certainly didn’t plan to suddenly develop affections towards her.

  
And yet, there she was, dangerously close to having her resolve crumbled. She knew that the longer she harbors these feelings, the harder and more painful it will be to part from them.

  
Even so, when Byleth offered a trivial thing such as a dance, she didn’t think twice and accepted the invitation anyway.

  
_Here I go, down that road again. Like a goddamn fool rushing in._

  
Edelgard knew that in matters concerning Byleth, she was nothing but weak.

  
_For this night, you caught me at my weakest._

  
They have stopped moving, yet they still held each other. Edelgard sighed and was the first to break away.

  
“I must say, Professor, I did not expect you to be proficient with the fine art of dancing,” Edelgard said.

  
Byleth shrugged. “Dorothea and Ferdinand were very much eager to give me a few pointers.”

  
Edelgard laughed. “I see.”

  
“Was it fine with you?”

  
“What is?”

  
“Dancing with me.”

  
_Of course, it is! What I would give to freeze this moment forever._ “It has been a pleasure.”

  
Byleth nodded, as if she had fully come to understand what had just taken place. “I see. That’s….good.”

  
“Professor, were you worried that this would not turn out well?”

  
Byleth lightly scratched her cheek with her finger. “I suppose that would be the right way to describe what I felt earlier.”

  
Edelgard nodded. “Alright, then. Thank you, Professor, for the dance. It certainly has been a splendid one. I’m afraid I shall have to take my leave now, it is rather late.”

  
“Indeed. I’ll be staying here a bit longer, though,” Byleth said. “Take care on the way down, Edelgard.”

  
Edelgard gave Byleth one last smile before descending the tower’s steps. Once she had gotten out of the tower, she let out the heaviest sigh she can muster, and she was now highly aware of how awfully worn-out she was. She slowly trudged back to the monastery grounds, careful not to walk too fast lest she completely stumbles in her steps.

  
She had expected Hubert to slither out of the shadows once more, perhaps to chide her for overtaxing herself for the foolhardy trip up the old tower, but even as she reached her quarters, her retainer could not be seen nor felt.

  
_I guess he took my suggestion to heart._

  
After dressing into her nightclothes, Edelgard threw herself on her bed. Her exhaustion brought about by the night’s various excitements, as well as the restlessness over the incident in Remire, had lulled her to sleep.

  
The last thing she saw in her mind’s eye before she drifted off was the professor, softly gazing down at her underneath the pale moonlight.

**Author's Note:**

> I was building a playlist that I can listen to while doodling when I stumbled on James Arthur's "At My Weakest". After checking the lyrics, I knew I was going to end up writing another Edeleth fic (lol).
> 
> (Yes, I headcanon Hubert as having the magical ability to   
> literally hide within shadows)


End file.
